devos from the hill

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Your Part in the Grand Story

A challenge to complete the Great Commission.
Lesson 65 from The HOPE Study Guide

INTRODUCTION

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…

– Matthew 28:19

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

– Mark 16:15

…repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

– Luke 24:47

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.

– Matthew 24:14

And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

– Mark 13:10

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

– 2 Peter 3:9

OBSERVE & CONSIDER

In the previous lesson we considered the final goal of God’s grand story as it has been revealed to man: “That God might be worshipped with white–hot affection by a redeemed company of countless persons from every tribe and tongue and people and nation”1 (Revelation 5:9, Revelation 7:9). From 1 Corinthians 2:9, we saw that what God has prepared for those who love Him is too wonderful for us to even comprehend. We also saw that those who love God will dwell in a new heaven and a new earth where they will reign with Him and glorify Him forever! (Revelation 22:5, Psalm 86:12).

But when will these things take place? If you recall from Lesson 60, we read that just before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave his followers some final instructions. These instructions are commonly known as the Great Commission and may be found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. (They are listed at the beginning of this lesson.) Notice from Matthew 24:14 that “the end” (the final goal of God’s grand story) will not come until the gospel is “preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations.”

Recall from Lesson 25 that a nation, in the Biblical sense of the word, is not simply a geographic country, but rather a people group that is distinct from other people groups by virtue of language, culture, tribal affiliation, etc. Immediately after God’s judgment at Babel, 70 nations were born. In our world today there are thousands of nations. Many of them have yet to be reached with the Gospel. And until they are reached, the end (or the beginning depending on how you see it) will not come. Continue reading →


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The Beginning of the Nations

God works all things according to His grand plan.
Lesson 25 from The HOPE Study Guide

INTRODUCTION

And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

– Genesis 11:4

Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

– Genesis 11:9

The number of Noah’s descendants increased greatly, but they remained as one people. They did not fill the earth as God commanded. Instead they built a city. Then they built a tower reaching to the heavens. God was not pleased. So God confused their language. Immediately there were at least 70 groups of people who could not speak with each other. Then God scattered these groups around the earth. And this was the beginning of the languages and nations of our world.

– The HOPE, Chapter 4

OBSERVE & CONSIDER

Recall from the previous lesson that when Noah and his family left the ark, God blessed them and told them to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1,7). However, instead of filling the earth, Noah’s family gathered in one place and built a city. And then they proceeded to build a tower that would reach into heaven (Genesis 11:4). Their motive was to make a name for themselves and to keep from being scattered over the face of the earth.

In Genesis 11:5-9 we see God’s response to their disobedience. He confused their language so that they did not understand one another’s speech. Bible scholars do not agree on the exact amount of time between the flood and the building of the tower of Babel. But from the record we have in Genesis 10, we could conclude that there were 70 family units at the time of the tower of Babel.1 So when God confused their language, Bible scholars estimate that there were as many as 70 different languages being spoken. It must have been complete chaos!

Work on the tower came to an abrupt halt and the people were scattered across the earth. (Genesis 11:9)

Recall also from the previous lesson that we contrasted God’s mandate to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1) with the people’s fear of being scattered across the earth. As a result of disobeying God, the very thing they were trying to avoid in Genesis 11:4 (being scattered) is the very thing that happened in Genesis 11:9 (they were scattered).

Now, all of this may have seemed like a big confusing mess, but as we’ve already seen numerous times in God’s story, He has a plan! And what appears to be a step backward in that plan is often really a step forward, if we see it from God’s perspective. Continue reading →